Make the shotgun actually shoot clustered projectiles

[Alistaire]

You're just not hitting more then one person, or really, more then one body part, when you hit someone with a shotgun.

Well to be honest you should shoot someone with a shotgun, not hit them with it.

[erdrik]

... or really, more then one body part, ...

You just claimed the spread was about head sized like three post back.
That is plenty large enough to hit more than one body part...

... not to mention the plethora of internals a spread of that size could hit...

[mumblemumble]

Shotguns can still hit multiple targets / people,  this is why they are used for birds for instance. Personally i think multiple projectiles would be great,  and make it a much better weapon

Particularly for say,  squirrels

[Mikhail Reign]

... or really, more then one body part, ...

You just claimed the spread was about head sized like three post back.
That is plenty large enough to hit more than one body part...

... not to mention the plethora of internals a spread of that size could hit...

Well obviously. I was referring to body parts more generally - you probably aren't going to hit an arm AND a leg, but yes you could definitely shred a few different organs. I'm actually all for the shotgun doing more brutal damage when it hits, I just don't like the gamey idea of shotguns shredding crowds like they do in most FPS.

As for the bird - that normally using birdshot, which since its lighter spreads more - great for targeting a group of birds, but not really useful for attacking people.

[Boston]

Shotguns can still hit multiple targets / people,  this is why they are used for birds for instance. Personally i think multiple projectiles would be great,  and make it a much better weapon

Particularly for say,  squirrels

Again, in order to do that, you use a shotgun with a modified (wide) choke, with ammunition specifically designed to spread (aka most birdshot).

Birdshot isn't going to do jack-all to a human, or human-sized, target, asides from piss them off.

See, this is why I think 1) ammunition should be a thing in Rimworld, so we could switch between birdshot (for small animals), buckshot (for larger animals, and for defense), and slugs (for when you want to kill things dead), and 2) you should be able to modify firearms. A pump-shotgun with a wide-open choke and loaded with birdshot would be awful for fighting off tribals, for instance, but that shotgun with slugs would turn them into paste.

[erdrik]

Well obviously. I was referring to body parts more generally - you probably aren't going to hit an arm AND a leg, but yes you could definitely shred a few different organs. I'm actually all for the shotgun doing more brutal damage when it hits, I just don't like the gamey idea of shotguns shredding crowds like they do in most FPS.

Maybe your not going to hit an arm and a leg, but you can hit an arm and the torso.
Or the torso and a leg. Or the head and torso...
Basically no more than two body parts and if two are hit, one has to be the torso.

I agree crowd level spread, is unrealistic. And Im not going to cry a river if it didn't include that level of spread, but I do feel crowd level spread falls under the "rule of fun". It shouldn't be discounted just because it is unrealistic.
I mean the spread on the minigun isn't even remotely realistic.

[Limdood]

there's also the unaddressed balance issue.

Currently you only have miniguns as a multi-target (non single use) weapon.  The minigun has a long long charge time, a movement penalty and abominable accuracy, especially against single targets.

So far, i've only heard the advocates for crowd spread shotgun wanting a weapon that essentially never misses at close range, and hits multiple enemies in a single burst.

It sounds like people want a cheaper, faster shooting, lighter, more accurate, more deadly, but slightly shorter range version of a minigun...now it isn't realistic AND it isn't fun, because there is no more meaningful choice to weapon selection.

[mumblemumble]

Really, shotguns having multiple projectiles would be an improvement, helping aim inherently a bit (shotguns are used in close encounters for this reason) And having variable damage at longer range / in cover compared to up close / no cover.

Plus, I really, really think a shotgun could do more damage than a survival rifle in certain instances, so even having 7 pellets doing 2-3 damage each would work, having the potential for very high damage, while individual wounds could be almost ignored for grazing hits.